Thermal factors influencing the reliability of GaN HEMTs

Gallium Nitride high-electron mobility transistors (HEMT) devices show great promise in their ability to tolerate the high temperature environments of advanced radar systems. This paper examines how GaN HEMT junction temperature determination can vary, owing to factors such as packaging variability, measurement error, and uncertainty in material property data. To demonstrate the impact of these variables, this paper uses practical examples of infrared thermography, micro-Raman thermography, device transient electro-thermal response analysis on GaN HEMT devices, and finite element analysis (FEA). These variations in temperature are combined into a probability model to estimate how life prediction will change as a function of these various factors.